Seoul -- President Bush called on North Korea January 6 to comply fully
with all aspects of its nuclear agreement with South Korea.

Addressing South Korea's National Assembly, Bush said, "North Korea must
implement in full all (international) safeguards for its nuclear
facilities without exception, and without delay." The safeguard
inspections are conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Bush acknowledged that the two historic accords reached last month by the
North and the South represent "positive developments," which came at a
time of "rising concern" about the North's "pursuit of nuclear arms." The
two countries agreed on a non-aggression pact and, at year's end, banned
nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula.

Despite these encouraging signs, the president pointed out that "paper
promises won't keep the peace." He urged the North Korean government "to
demonstrate its sincerity, to meet the obligations it undertook when it
signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty six years ago."

In addition to implementing in full the IAEA safeguards, Bush called on
the North to carry out the inspection and verification provisions of the
Joint Declaration on Non-Nuclearization signed by the two countries
December 31.

"Prompt action by the North," he said, "will mark a new milestone on the
path toward peace."

A senior administration official told reporters the pace of the nuclear
talks since last September has been "unbelievable." He recalled that the
two sides "vaulted over all sorts of hurdles." North Korea's
accommodation could be attributed to "the decline of its allies" in the
former Soviet Union and to the country's "failing economy," he said.

The remaining task, the official said, is to keep international pressure
on the North for further progress. But the IAEA process is slow,
requiring "months" to complete, he pointed out. Nonetheless, the
bilateral agreement on mutual inspection of facilities could speed trust in
North Korean intentions and is not precluded by IAEA norms, the official
added.

The president's remarks to the National Assembly marked a high point in a
busy day merging diplomacy with trade discussions. Bush met with
President Roh Tae Woo for more than 45 minutes of wide-ranging
discussions; conferred twice with U.S. and Korean businessmen, including
21 executives traveling with him; and witnessed the signing of a science
and technology agreement and a pact protecting U.S. intellectual property
rights. He also spoke to the U.S.-Korea Chamber of Commerce and visited
Camp Casey, a U.S. military outpost just south of the Demilitarized Zone
separating North and South Korea.

In his address to the National Assembly, the president told the South
Korean legislators that the United States' commitment to Korean security
"remains steady and strong." He lamented the longstanding division
between the North and South, saying the Cold War "continues to cast its
shadow" over the peninsula." However, he assured the assembly that "the
day will come when this last wound of the Cold War struggle will heal,"
emphasizing that "Korea will be whole again; I am absolutely convinced of
it."

At Camp Casey, Bush told soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division that
the U.S. commitment to South Korea "has been firm and unwavering" and
stressed that "nothing will change that."

The president said that the United States "will gradually shift to a
supporting role as the Korean military takes the lead" in defending the
nation. "But North Korea must know that we will resist any aggression and
will keep our forces strong enough to do so for as long as the Korean
people want our support," he added.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater told reporters that Bush
assured Roh any further reduction in the number of U.S. troops stationed
in Korea "will depend on a range of things," including, but not limited to,
IAEA safeguard inspections of North Korean nuclear facilities. The press
secretary said troop levels were discussed in the "context" of overall
improvement in North-South relations, "general progress in North-South
reconciliation," and bilateral inspection of nuclear facilities. "The
president," Fitzwater said, "assured the Koreans that we are not pulling
out precipitously."

Bush told a news conference held with Roh that he had "reaffirmed" the
U.S. security pledge to the country. "Let there be no misunderstanding,"
he said, "the United States will remain in Korea as long as there is a
need and we are welcome."

Asked if Washington would "upgrade" relations with the North if it agrees
to implement international nuclear safeguards, Bush said that in addition
to the nuclear issue, he would want to see improvement of the North's
"miserable record for individual rights, human rights." But he added that
the United States "would not get out in front" of the South Korean
government's diplomacy with the North.

"We are not going to permit North Korea to make an end run to start
talking to us about upgrading before these fundamental problems have been
solved," he explained.
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